SILAM
Metabolic labeling of an entire rodent for quantitative proteomic tissue analysis
SILAM refers to labeling an entire rodent with heavy stable isotopes for quantitative proteomic tissue analysis. Labeling an entire proteome with heavy isotopes in vivo generates an ideal standard for quantitative proteomics.
When a heavy proteomics labeled proteome is mixed with an unlabeled proteome then digested, every unlabeled peptide identified by the mass spectrometer can be quantified by its corresponding heavy peptide. The advantage of metabolic labeling over in vitro tagging techniques is that the heavy and unlabeled samples are mixed before sample preparation, preventing variability between preparations from distorting the quantification results. This is especially important when extensive sample preparation (e.g., isolation of an organelle) is required.
In SILAM, the rodent food is altered to contain heavy lysine or 15N spirulina as the only protein source. The heavy tissues are used as internal standards for quantitative proteomic analysis of basic mammalian physiology and animal models of disease. We are also pleased to offer intact stable isotope-enriched mouse tissue for use in SILAM: Mouse Express® L-Lysine (13C6, 97%) Mouse Tissue and Mouse Express® (15N, 94%) Mouse Tissue from Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. (CIL).
15N spirulina feed
In vivo labeling
🌱 About the spirulina feed
The 15N spirulina feed is prepared from the blue-green algae Arthrospira platensis, formulated to provide only 15N-labeled protein alongside the nutrients and vitamins required for normal growth. Feed kits are typically supplied with 1 kg of labeled feed and 1 kg of matching unlabeled feed, available irradiated or non-irradiated, enabling both labeled and control cohorts from a single order.
Reference
- McClatchy, D.B.; Yates III, J.R. 2008. Stable Isotope Labeling of Mammals (SILAM). Cold Spring Harb Protoc.
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Mouse Express® is a registered trademark of Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc.
